determination by XXLD
by boomingmaster
Summary: Well, this a history that was erased by the author in 2015 and I sincerily think that it is a shame, so I published again, but I want clear something, if you have good coments you will send them to the author but the complaints to me, because the author don t deserve it, and less for a history that he deleted.


Ash was on a plane ride back from Kalso and heading towards Kanto following

his defeat in the Kalos league at the hands of an unexpected rival Sawyer. Ash

had been through tough losses in leagues before but never anything like this,

he was always so far ahead of Sawyer and Sawyer had always asked Ash or

just about anybody for advice. Sawyerbarely even made it to the Kalos league

as he received his 8th badge on two days before registration for the league

had ended. So to see Sawyer beat him in an amazing battle just tore Ash apart

although Ash did a wonderful job at hiding it, partly because he was happy

that Sawyer wasable to overcome all his difficulties as a trainer and win the

Kalos league. On the plane ride Ash started to feel uncertain about his

chancesof becoming a pokemon master since he had spent so much of his time

devoting his life to battling and he couldn't even get past step one of a long

gruelling process. He started to wonder if there was anything he could better

or improve upon, but the only that came to mind was just be better. For the

first time in his life he began to question if he was just not good enough to win

a league let alone be a pokemon master. Ash then started to think about how

all of his traveling companions were well on their way towards making their

dreams a reality and here he was not even close to his dream, it sort of made

him feel like a bit of a failure. Maybe he set his dream too high and for a

moment thought about giving up. That is until something in his gut told him to

never give up on his dream. Ash then made a conscious decision to make his

dream a goal instead. The only problem was he had no idea where to go from

here. Suddenly he snapped out his deep thought by people beginning to get

off the got off the plane and was greeted by his mother and

Professor Oak at the airport. This wasn't unexpected since Professor Oak and

his mom were the only ones he knew that were always excited to see him.

Their reunion went on as i usually did with Ash telling them about certain

stories during his travels and then showing them his newest pokemon. When

they arrived at Ash's house Professor Oak went back to his lab and Delia

asked Ash a question that had been on her mind since he came back." So

where is my little Ashy gonna travel to next?" Delia asked expecting Ash to be

really excited about some new region." Honestly mom, I have no idea." Ash

replied completely surprising his mom." What do you mean you don't know,

isn't there another region you could go to or another battle frontier you could

challenge?" Delia asked hopingto get some insight on what her son was

thinking." There probably is, but I feel like I just need some time to think

about some stuff before I do anything." Ash responded hoping to answer his

mom's question, but only ended up leaving her with her with more

the day went by Ash began doing his normal chores around the

house, until he went to pick up the mail and found a letter addressed to him

that said"Hello Ash I have been watching you compete in pokemon leagues for

quite some time now and can definitely see the great potential you hold. I am

aware your dream is to become a Pokemon Master and feel like I can be of

great assistance to you in helping you achieve Mastery. If you accept my offer

be warned that my training process will be extremely difficult and have the

ability to change you as a person. If you accept my help then I will be waiting

for you at the top of Mt. Silver. Sincerely R.E.D"Ash was definitely skeptical of

this letter since he had no idea who R.E.D was. Furthermore why would

anybody be waiting at the Top of Mt. Silversince it was extremely cold and

almost impossible to reach. Another thing that bothered Ash was the fact that

this person had apparently been watching him battle for quite some time.

Although all signs pointedtowards this being some kind of hoax Ash knew that

he didn't have any other options at this point. He quickly made up his mind

and said out loud" Mom I know what I am going to do."-Early next morning-"

Alright Ash you're all ready to go, um where did you say you were headed

again?" Delia asked still unsure of what her son was planning." Umm, I going

to the Saffron City gym to due some special training." Ashlied since he knew

his mother would never be okay with a trip so dangerous." Oh, ok then just

one more thing. Here are your new clothes honey." Delia replied with a smile.

She handed Ash some dark blue denim pants,a hat that was plain white except

for a red pokeball in the middle, and a jacket that looked exactly like his

Unova jacket except for the fact that this one was Red and white instead of

blue and white. After he put on thenew clothes he said he was ready to go off

and hopefully find this R.E.D person." Alright bye mom." Ash said as he ran

out of the he officially went off on his new journey Ash decided

to pay a visitto Professor Oaks lab." Hey there Professor Oak." Ash said as he

entered the Lab." Hello there Ash, what can I do for you?" Professor Oak

asked a little confused as to why Ash showed up so sudden." Well I am

planning to go off on a training journey, and I was wonderingif I could take all

of my Pokemon with me." Ash replied with an unsure look as to what Oak's

response would be." Well, I suppose it's okay, but are you gonna keep them

forever because all of the other pokemon enjoy your pokemon's company so

much they probably couldn't go a year without them." Oak asked a little

unsure of what exactly Ash was planning." Of course I'll bring them back I am

only gonna be on this journey for about six months." Ash responded as if he

knew exactly what he was doing, but truth be told he didn't have a clue how

long this was gonna take." Okay then, all of your pokemon are right there."

Oak said fully convinced Ash knew what he was gather all of his

pokemon and left the lab . A thought suddenly hit Ash; he could die on this

trip from hypothermia or starvation. He suddenly became fully aware of all the

risk he was taking, but in the back of his mind he knew there was no backing

out now.

-With May and Dawn-"We are pleased to award both May Maple and Dawn

Berlitz the title of top coordinator!" The announcer said as the crowd cheered

and and Dawn had started to travel together after May was done

in Johto and went back to her home Hoenn where she met up with Dawn who

had just arrived. They competed in contest together having a friendly rivalry.

They also did a good job at shutting up their main rivals Drew, Harley, Zoey,

and Kenny's big egos by working together and dominating them. After lots of

hard work they both achieved their dream,but something didn't feel right.

Suddenly as the celebration was going on both May and Dawn began to

search for the one person who had helped them most, Ash. They sent Ash an

invitation to the event and assumed he would be there but their eyes weren't

lying, he was nowhere to be seen. This heavily disappointed May and Dawn

because the one person they wanted to be congratulated most by hadn't

shown up. Then a women asked both of them a simple question." Are you guys

happy now?" Asked the lady expecting a joyful response." Not completely."

Both May and Dawn said stunning the crowd.- With Brock-In the Pewter City

Gym another big celebration was going, and Brock was one to be celebrated."

Family and friends we are here to give Brock Harrison this certificate for

completing all the necessary requirements for being a Pokémon doctor.

Congratulations Brock you are now a certified Pokémon Doctors." The head of

the Medical school Brock attended smiled as he saw all of

his relatives and friends gathered for his great accomplishment, but couldn't

help but notice his best friend was no where to be seen. Ash and him had

traveled through 4 regions and have always been like brothers with each

other, which is why Brock was shocked that he hadn't shown up." Well Brock

is there anything that could make this moment any better." One of his

relatives asked excepting some cheesy saying about how this was a perfect

moment." Him being here." Brock responded with a hint of sadness as he

pointed to a picture of him and Ash shaking hands. Suddenly the tone of the

party changed and there was silence.- With Iris -Iris' family and hometown had

gathered as the Lance, the great dragon master, had arrived to award Iris her

dream title." I am here to give the official seal and title of Dragon Master to

this lady here Iris." Lance said as he gave Iris a badge that resigned whoever

wore it as a Dragon at the event began to cheer and feast, no

one from their home town had ever achieved such an achievement. Iris was as

happy as she could be until she started to think about the people who had

helped her most. While there were many people she realized that no one had

helpedher more than Ash. Sure she and Ash weren't always on the best of

terms, with her constantly teasing Ash about how he acted like a kid, but he

was still always there for her in her time of need and helped her strengthen

her bond with her first pokemon, Axew. She had sent him an invitation to this

event but it was obvious he wasn't with them at this moment." Iris can you

single out the one person who has helped you out most?" Lance asked

wondering who she was going to single out." Well... he isn't here right now."

Iris answered leaving everyone at the event confused.- With Ash -" Well

Pikachu it's now or never." Ash said as he gazed up the towering Mt. Silver.

He received Pikachu's classic ' Pika ' response as a sort of approval to go

through with from the bottom of the mountain Ash felt a hint of what

was to come when a sudden gust of wind hit him like a truck. Ash began to

move quickly as he could feel a sort of storm brewing up from the bottomof

the mountain, he knew he didn't want to be caught in it. Besides Pikachu all of

Ash's pokemon were in their pokeballs inside Ash's backpack so he was

traveling practically in solitude. Ash thought that if he could simply ignore the

cold then maybe he would notice the freezing temperature as much. That plan

however was quickly abandoned when he suddenly felt his eyebrows start to

freeze and noticed Pikachu shivering on his shoulder." Okay Pikachu get in

here with the rest of the pokemon, it'll be better than staying out here and

suffering with me." Ash told Pikachu as he began to open his backpack.

Pikachu jumped right in, even though he didn't want Ash to suffer alone, he

simply couldn't take the cold any continued on still feeling the

effects of the temperature, but nothing that was going stop him. Suddenly

though he a few snowflakes begin to fall on him and he also began realize that

the wind had begun to pick up big time. Ash knew what this meant, especially

after the snow had picked up as well. If he continued at the his current pace

then he would surely be trapped by upcoming storm. He took off in full sprint

trying to somehow outrun the storm. His efforts were worthless however as

there was no way he could escape this catastrophe. As his vision started to

become filled with snow he noticed a small igloo not to far from him. He

sprinted towards the igloo hoping to have found shelter. Once he reached the

igloo he immediately entered it where he saw some other small pokemon

inside the igloo trying to escape the blizzard themselves. He was so exhausted

at this point that he simply closed his eyes and instantly fell woke

up approximately 8 hours later. The sky was dark meaning that it must of been

late at night also the wind and snow had significantly died down. At first Ash

was wondering where he was and what he was doing until he remembered

why he was there in the first place. He saw how much the blizzard had let up

and decided that this was a good chance to start moving again.- 3 hours later

-They storm had now completely died down and the darkness of night began to

change into the dawn of the day. At this point Ash had reached his limit and he

started to wonder how much further he still needed to go. His hands and feet

had been numb since the beginning of his journey up the mountain, but just

now they began to regain their feeling senses. Ash then saw a cabin in the

distance and without knowing anything about it headed towards it. Once Ash

got closer to the cabin he saw a man, who looked slightly older than him,

sitting down on a chair. Ash finally made it to the cabin he approached the

man who turned around when Ash was close." Hello Ash, I have been

expecting you." The man stated as he turned to face Ash." Are you R.E.D." Ash

asked even though he already knew what his answer would be." Please call me

Red, you don't have to sound out every letter you know." Red replied with a

slight chuckle. Before Ash could respond Red opened his mouth again." Tell

me Ash, how was your trip up here?" Red asked with a mysterious grin. Ash

wanted to lie and tell him how it wasn't too much trouble, but he just didn't

feel comfortable telling a lie that large." To be honest, it was awful. A blizzard

brew up once I started making my way out of the mountain, it may have given

me hypothermia and I haven't been able to fully feel my limbs in a while now. I

may not even behere if it weren't for an igloo I spotted that provided me with

shelter." Ashanswered his question expecting some sympathy from Red." Ah

now I see, you risked your life for some unknown training from an unknown

person. Tell me Ash, why would you do something so foolish?'Red asked

surprising Ash. Ash was a little surprised Red would put his situation in such

harsh context, but deep inside Ash wondered the exact same thing. Ash

answered Red's question with the only thing he could think of himself." I guess

I was just so determined to become a Pokémon Master that I was willing to try

anything." Ash said from the bottom of his heart. Red began to smile, he

finally got the answer he was looking for." That's what I wanted to hear. Let

me tell you something Ash; there are people who set their goals high and say

they want to succeed in them, but they don't really want it. They just kind of

want it on their terms, but there are people like you want it at all cost and are

willing to risk everything just to jump at any opportunity to help them reach

their goal. People like you are people I will train." Red said praising Ash for

his determination. Ash however still had a few questions on his mind about the

entire situation that he just needed answers to." Thanks and all, but just out of

curiosity why would you choose to train me. I mean I haven't even who a

league yet and there are lots, who are better than me, who also aim at the title

Pokémon master." Ash asked with a depressed tone during the last part of his

question." I know skill and potential when I see it Ash. Why would I bother

trainingsomeone who has no more potential to be unlocked. All those people

who beat you during your Pokémon leagues have all almost completely

reached the peak of their ceiling. You on the other hand haven't even come

close to scratching your ceiling. Your ceiling far surpasses the ceilings of

anyone you have met and that's why it's so difficult for you to reach it." Red

answered with a serious tone in his voice. Ash was clearly lifted by Red's

response because ever since the Kalos league Ash felt as if he had gotten as

skilled as he could become and couldn't win the league, but now Ash found out

that at least someone thinks he could stillbe much better. This brought

another question into Ash's mind which had been on his mind since he started

this journey."Wait if you live up here then how are you able to see me battle?"

Ash asked very curious to Red's answer to this question. Red simply picked up

a cup of hot chocolate he had on a table and pointed at an old TV in the corner

while he began to take small sips of his beverage. This led Ash to become even

more confused with how Red would be able to get

connection in a place as barren as this." But,...how.." Ash started but was cut

off by Red" If I even attempted to explain the complexity of how my TV works I

would lose you instantly, so lets not get into that right now." Red answered not

wanting to continue with their current conversation. Ah decided to drop the

question as well not wanting to give his brain an unnecessary

rest of the day went on smoothly as Ash began to make himself comfortable

with Red's cabin; he also decided to finally let all of his pokemon out of their

pokeballs, he knew how much they hated them. As the evening settled in Ash's

appetite got the better of him as he began searching around for some food

until Red decided to feed him some of his food. To Ash's surprise all Red

served him were some vegetables and boiled skinless chicken. This came

rather odd to Ash since he had never eaten chicken that was completely gray

before or even touched a vegetable in his life. Ash was too hungry to worry

about that however as he made quick work of all the food on his plate as

usual. As the evening set into night Ash was about to get ready to go to bed

until he was comforted by Red." Ash before we do any training at all there is

something very important we need to do." Red asked with another serious

look." Okay, what would that be exactly?" Ash asked wondering what Red was

thinking of. Ash looked him dead in the eye and said" We need to break you."

" Did you just say ' break me'?" asked Ash hoping that he simply misheard

Red." Yes I did. We need to break your spirit and soul before we can do any

training what so ever." responded Red with an emphasis on the words 'break,

soul and spirit'. Ash was more frightened than ever, he didn't really know how

to respond to Red's last statement." And how exactly are you going to do

that?" asked Ash fearing what Red's response would be." Simple, for about

two days I am going to allow nature to torture you to the brink of death. If you

survive your spirit and soul will be broken, that Ican promise." said Red with

an evil grin. Red then began to head towards the main door while Ash was

frozen in fear of what Red had justsaid. Ash knew he wasn't going to let Red

use him as a torture dummy, so he began to stand up for himself." No! I am

not going to be your torture puppet! And if that's what it takes to become a

Pokemon Master then you can find someone else to train!" Yelled Ash with

anger trying to stand up for himself. Red just simply opened the door and

said" That's to bad BECAUSE I WASN'T ASKING!" Yelled Red as he charged

towards Ash. Red violently tackled Ash and easily overpowered him. He then

lifted Ash over his head with great strength and began to head towards the

door while carrying Ash. All Ash could do was screech in fear. Red ignored the

screams and simply made his way towards the main door. Once he reached the

door he violently throw Ash out the doorinto the snowy ground. After Ash

shook off the impact he was surprised when he saw all of his pokemon outside

with him. Before Ash could say anything Red opened his mouth" You'll be

sleeping out here tonight. If you were smart you would huddleyourself and all

your pokemon together to keep each other from freezing.( Yawn )I'll check on

you in the morning, I would be very disappointed if you were already dead."

Said Red as he locked the door and made his way back into the cabin. Ash just

sat there, incredibly angry at himself for trusting this guy and now his

pokemon and him were going to suffer. Ash began to violently punch the snow,

each punch with more anger. He then noticed all of his pokemon were clearly

afraid of his actions." Look guys I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just who does

that guy think heis using people as nature's bait." Ash told his pokemon, but

clenching his fist at the last statement." PikaPi, Pikachu."" Look Pikachu, if we

could leave we would. However if we leave right now in the middle of the

night we would be dead by exhaustion and hypothermia." Ash said

disappointing all of his pokemon. Ash began to think about how he had

screwed all of their lives by trusting some guy hejust barely met. At that

moment a tear fell from one of Ash's eyes. At first one, then two, and all of

sudden Ash began to heavily sob. His pokemon took notice of this and they

didn't like seeing their trainer cry. Pikachu slowly made his way towards Ash

and gently hugged him. After Pikachu, Charizard did the same as he went

behind Ash and hugged himfrom behind. All of a sudden all of Ash's pokemon

from Bulbasaur to Talonflame began to embrace Ash in any way they could.

They even made room for snorlax as he was able to place a paw on Ash's back.

Ash was well comforted by his pokemon and all the concern they showed.

Eventually all of Ash's pokemon were circled around, all of them were giving

Ash one big hug. After about 5 minutes Ash began to slowly drift into a deep

sleep.-Next Morning-Red had woken up, he casually got up from his bed and

quickly made his way to where he had left Ash. Once he got outside he looked

at the sky and saw that it was fairly bright, by his first guess he would have to

say it was about 9:00. He then turned his attention to some rare storm clouds

that appeared to be headed their way. He quickly noticed that these weren't

clouds of a blizzard, but of a huge thunderstorm. Thunderstorms were rare in

Mt. Silver, but whenever they did appear they were as massive as could be.

Suddenly an idea popped into Red's head, but before he could execute it he

needed to find out if Ash was still alive or not. He made his way to where he

left Ash and saw the position him and his pokemon were. Even Red felt the

heartwarming side of their scene. Red then came closer to the group and

placed his hand on Ash's neck." Good he's still breathing, would've been lame

if he died so easily." Red said out loud." Wake-up guys. We don't have all day to

torture your trainer." Red said nearly very loud waking Ash and most of his

pokemon as well." What, huh. I'm alive." Ash said in a low voice, he couldn't

believe he survived that horrific night with not much support other than his

pokemon. He then turned to his head towards Red with an unhappy

expression to say the least." You. You monster, do you think you can send

people towards their graves whenever you want. Do you think you can

endanger the lives of any pokemon or person you want." Ash yelled furiously

at Red as he began to break the embrace he had with his pokemon. Red

simply threw a bag towards Ash that had each one of his pokemon's poke balls

in it. Ash didn't know how react to Red's actions, but he decided to say

nothing and simply return everyone of his Pokemon. After he returned his last

one to its poke ball, Ash placed all of the poke balls back into the bag they

were in." Alright listen up Red. Me and my pokemon are leaving, so you might

aswell start your search for the next pokemon master because I am not going

to stand for this treatment." Ash said as he went inside to grab his things and

prepare to depart from this cabin until he was stopped by Red's voice." I don't

think so Ash. " responded Red as he picked up the bag with all ofAsh's

pokemon inside." What do mean by you don't think so?" Asked Ash as he made

his way back outside. He the grew angry when he saw Red with the bag, that

contained all of his pokemon except Pikachu, over his shoulder." Let's play a

game. If you can catch me, the I'll give you your pokemon back and I'll even

give you this guy to help you out." Red said as he pulled a random pokeball

from the bag out. Out came an Ash's Charizard, enraged by what he had heard

Red say. Red quickly darted off and called upon one of his pokemon. A

majestic Pidgeot came out and Red hopped on top of it." Charizard let's head

after him, Pikachu jump on my shoulder and hold on tight. He's not getting

away with this." Ash said as mounted onto Charizard and Pikachu onto his

shoulder. They then took off trying to catch up to Red, and saw the path he

was headed in and took notice of a flash of thunder coming from one of the

clouds." A thunderstorm, just our luck." Ash said out loud to Pikachu and

Charizard. All of the sudden it clicked for Ash, Red had planned this out." Now

I get it, Red shall pay for using me as his torture doll." Ash thoughtas him and

his pokemon made their way towards the thunderstorm." Hey Ash, if you and

your Charizard hold onto to each other tightly you may not be killed by the

lightning." Red shouted loud enough for Ash to hear it even though Ash didn't

like the guy he really didn't have any betterideas." Red began to have his

Pidgeot circle around Ash' Charizard and keep them where ever the storm

moved. Charizard couldn't match Pidgeot's speed so Ash constantly ordered

his Charizard to attempt to cut off Pidgeot's path. On one of Charizard's

attempts Ash and Charizard were struck dead on by a lightning bolt. This

wasn't like the times Pikachu had zapped Ash, this one Ash was much more

powerful than any thunderbolt Pikachu ever used. All Ash did was shriek in

pain, the pain that could make even the toughest men cry. Even Pikachu had

been hurt by the lightning's sheer power. Ash grabbed a hold of Charizard and

somehow they shook the lightning off. Ash then looked over and saw that Red

had also been struck by lightning, however it seemed like neither Red nor

Pidgeot were affected. However the same could not be said for the pokemon

inside the poke balls, the lightning was so powerful it hurt them as well. Ash

could feel their pain every time they were struck by a bolt, this angered Ash

even more. Both Red and Ash were so high up that they began to be

constantly hit by lightning, some being small and some being large. Every

time Ash would be hit he wouldlet out a scream that came from pure pain, on

a scale of 1-10 it would be 100. Red however never felt pain from any of the

bolts. Red then noticed a colossal lightning bolt was about to strike and he

needed Ash to head towards it." Hey Ash, you want your Pokémon so bad?

Well you can have them." Shouted Red as he tossed the bag of poke balls in

the direction of the spawning bolt." This is my chance, Charizard full speed."

Ash yelled as Charizard propelled them towards the falling bag. Ash able to

catch the bag, but in an instant was struck by a lightning that made the rest

seem like playful shocks. If the other bolts were 100 on the pain scale, then

this one was 1000. Ash's wasn't even to let out a scream as him and Charizard

quickly plummeted from the sky. Ash began to close his eyes and saw a black

dark room.-In Ash's head-Ash saw nothing but pitch black until he saw his

mother appear." Ash! PLEASE DON'T DIE!" Delia began to shout. Ash didn't

respond." ASH THE ONLY WAY IS TO LET GO. PLEASE JUST LET GO!" Delia

shouted. Ash responded with a simple" Okay."-In real time-Ash quickly woke

up, still amazingly holding on to the bag, and realized he was falling. He then

tried to wake up Charizard and grabbed Pikachu out of the air." Come one

Charizard please wake up. I BELIEVE IN YOU." Shouted Ash to a falling

Charizard. Incredibly Charizard some how managed to wakeup and catch Ash

and Pikachu out of the air. Charizard then used all the strength it had left

reach a small landing spot near the middle of the Mt. Silver. Once they had

landed both Charizard and Ash

collapsed from awoke in Red's bed and immediately notices

Red leaning on the door frame of his bedroom." Good, you're awake." Red said

with a very calm tone. Ash still had full memory of what happened up to the

point he past out and surprisingly felt no anger towards Red." What

happened." Asked Ash confused as to what happened after he past out." You

saved your Pokémon and then passed out. I then recall your Charizard for you

and took all of you guys back here. Don't worry all of Pokémon are being

treated by some of my Pokémon and should be fine in about two days. More

importantly it finally happened." Replied Red filling Ash in on the situation.

Ash was left however a bit confused by Red's last statement." What

happened?" Asked Ash" We broke you. We broke your spirit and we broke your

soul. Tell me Ashhow are you feeling right now?" Red asked trying to confirm

his observations. Ash tried to feel something, but he simply couldn't." I

feel...nothing." Ash replied in all honesty. Red simply smirked." That's because

all of your emotions and personality has been temporarily disabled. Don't

worry though this is only temporary for your emotions, but your personality

however will drastically change. Now wecan finally begin training as soon as

your wounds are healed. " Responded Red. Ash was left with nothing to say

but" What exactly will be our training." Ash asked." Our training will be about

2 months long. The first month we will focus on combining your broken soul

and spirit with the souls and spirits of your Pokémon. This will be done by

spiritual bonding that will require you and your to gain each other couldn't of

been done if your soul and spirit were fine. This will cause you and your

Pokémon to be completely 100% in sync with each other. The second month

will focus on learning how to control and use your unbreakable bond in battle.

You and your Pokémon will have abilities champions can only dream of. Once I

feel like I have taught all I can teach, I will inform you of the necessary

requirements to being a Pokémon Master." Red said informing Ash of their

schedule." Okay, I'll be ready." Ash replied thinking about the next two months

andwhat it will bring,

-One week Later -Ash was laying in his bed late at night, unable to sleep. For

the past week Ash's wounds were being healed by some special herbs and an

occasional medicine that Ash had never heard of. During this time Ash had

been slowly regaining all the feelings he lost when he went through the

destruction of his soul and spirit. Ash's habits however had changed

dramatically, so much so that if he didn't have his same old face then you

wouldn't recognize him at all. One of Ash's biggest changes was thefact that

he didn't care for all of the bad food he used to love to eat, his main diet now

consisted of vegetables, fruits, tofu, and boiled meat without any grease. The

other major change came in his attitude, he wasno longer overly excited or

cheerful on a regular basis. He was all in now, Ash wouldn't be excited about a

challenge anymore, he would be focused. Ash began to think about how much

one week can change you and he wondered if it was for the better or not.

What also confused Ash was the last thing his mother said in his conscious

before he changed.(flashback)" ASH THE ONLY WAY IS TO LET GO, PLEASE

LET GO ASH" Delia shouted, Ash replied with a smile and said" Okay "( End

Flashback )Exactly what did his mom mean by let go and why would he agree

to it so easily. He also wondered why that moment came up in a life

threatening situations. Maybe even more confusing were his thoughts about

Red. At first he followed his letter because for some reason he had faith in

him, but then he started acting like a monster who insisted to torture him and

Ash started to despise him. Now however Ash didn't know what to think of

him. After the life changing incident Red took care of him much more kindly

and healed his wounds very quickly, but was that reason enough to trust him.

In fact as far as Ash was concerned all he was doing was following orders at

this point, but why? At this moment Ash figured that he had done enough

thinking for one night and it was time to go to awoke very early the

following morning, he look outside from his window and saw that the sky was

still dark and that the night fog was still around. He also noticed that Pikachu

was still enjoying his dream and decided to let continue to sleep. Ash step

outside and was surprised that it wasn't very cold at all. It was about 9°

Fahrenheit, which was ideal and a little warm compared to what most days

were like. Ash just began to take notice of how much space there was to run

and climb. It wouldn't be easy to exercise in these conditions, but Ash was still

considering it because he knew that he wasn't the healthiest person in the

world. Ash then went to check on his pokemon, who were staying in a small

shack. When Ash arrived there his eyes began gazing at a most beautiful site.

All of his pokemon were cuddled around a large Snorlax to conserve all the

wealth they could. From Ash's view it looked like they were all having a large

hug. However Ash then realized that five important pokemon were missing in

this scene and he began to search for them. Ash eyes then saw a his Sceptile

simply leaning on a wall and closing his eyes. Although this didn't surprise Ash

very much, since Sceptile had always had preferred to be alone, it was

disappointing to see Sceptile not be involved in such a moment. Ash then

turned his head and saw his Charizard sleeping in like a lion with his wings

covering its main body. Ash was disappointed to see one of his first pokemon

be left out of this special. Ash felt a drop of water snap him out of his thoughts

about Charizard, the drop came from a little drool that came out of the mouth

of his Greninja. Greninja however was not in normal sleeping pose, he was

sleeping upside down on the roof of the shaq. How he was doing it confused

even Ash, but at the moment Ash didn't like that one of his newer pokemon

wasn't getting along very well with the rest of his pokemon. Ash then began to

wonder where two other pokemon were until he spotted them alone each. One

was Oshawott, who was in the far corner alone. The other was Gible, who was

the opposite simply away from everyone else. Both of these Pokemon shocked

Ash, they both were always energetic and cheerful, and to see them alone was

hurting Ash. Ash couldn't standing seeing this anymore so he made his way

out of the shaq and back into the cabin. Once Ash went back into the cabin he

saw Red waiting for him." Ash I have some good news, all of your injuries

should be completely healed." Red said as he began to pour Ash some hot

chocolate. Ash was relieved that not only his injuries were healed, but now he

could finally start training." You know what this means right? We are going to

begin training today." Said Red as he handed Ash his cup of hot chocolate.- 3

weeks Later -Ash had once again woken up extremely early, it had sort of

become a routine for him. He always woke up early because it was the only

time of the day he could fit a solid exercise in his busy schedule. Ash wasn't a

fan out working out and gain bulging muscles, he preferred to just stay in

shape and have a very lean body tone. He did this by running, he ran up all

the hills around the Mt. Silver and the morning chill added plenty of difficulty

in the exercise. After Ash had completed his daily running he went to check on

his pokemon and how they were doing. A familiar view appeared in Ash's eyes,

most of his pokemon were sleeping all circled up in a large hug with each

other. This had been the view every time he checked on them and every time a

smile arose on Ash's face. They all had become one large happy family and

most of them had evolved at least one stage at relatively the same time.

However, as usual, five pokemon were left out of the equation. Charizard,

Sceptile, Gible, Oshawott, and Greninja had never been apart of these

sleeping arrangements. Not only that but unlike his other pokemon they

weren't very enthusiastic about the special training they were doing. They

usually gave little effort on all of the team and trust building activities and

began to start giving Ash the cold shoulder a lit bit. This brought a frown to

Ash's face every time as well." They're peaceful aren't they?" Red said as he

walked into the shack surprising Ash. Ash flinched when he heard Red's voice

but he quickly regained his focus." Yeah they are. They remind me a large

happy family don't you think?" Ash said answering Red's question." Yes they

are practically a family now. Their bonds have grown with each other as well

as they have with you." Red said expecting some sort of gratitude response

from Ash, but only saw him frown as he looked at the five pokemon who

weren't involved in the heart warming scene. Red didn't like seeing Ash upset

so he tried to cheer him up with some exciting news." You know Ash you never

fail to surprise me." Red stated completely snapping Ash out of his train of

thoughts." What do you mean by that." Ash asked confused by Red's

statement." I thought it was going to take a little longer than a month to

complete this first stage, but you have only been truly training for about 3

weeks and are so close to completing the stage Ash. Do you know why that

is?" Asked Red with a sense of praise for Ash." Probably all the hard work of

my pokemon right." Responded Ash as if it were obvious and he began to

wonder why Red would even ask such aquestion." Yes their hard work has

been a big factor, but the key component is youAsh. All of pokemon look like a

large family because they all centralize on your spirit and soul. Your pokemon

Ash were there for you when you needed them most because you had always

been there for them, it seemsclear that all of your pokemon have complete

faith in you Ash. This makes your bond with them even more important

because now the can easily strengthen their bond with each other because

they all share a common bond, which is you Ash. However this stage isn't

complete untilALL of your pokemon show the same bond with you as they do

with each other and it has come to my attention that five of your pokemon

don't seem to be on the same page as the rest." Red replied giving Ash plenty

of praise and pride in himself. Ash mind however was back on thefocus of the

five pokemon who were not in sync with the rest. Ash only wanted to know

why this was happening, and why only they are like this. Red noticed Ash's

face for concern and quickly figured out what was bothering him. The quick

thinking Red suddenly formed an idea thatwas sure to solve Ash's crisis."

What if I told you all your problems could be solved today Ash?" Said Red as

he immediately gained Ash's attention again." How?" Asked Ash with

eagerness and curiosity." I'll explain to you the details later, but in two hours

we are going out for an experiment and I only ask that your five lonely

pokemon as this is between you and them." Explained Red as he left the shack

and made him way back to the cabin. Ash was left thinking about Red's last

statement and he began to realize that this could be his best chance to get to

the source of the issue with Oshawott, Charizard, Gible, Sceptile, and

Greninja." Alright everyone it's time to rise." Ash said out loud to wake up his

sleeping pokemon. His pokemon slowly began to open their eyes and look

around searching for where that voice came from." Okay guys here's what's

up, I am giving most of you the day off today." Stated Ash in front of his whole

pokemon group. They all started lookingat their trainer and began to cheer

with gratitude." Like I said most of you will have the day off, five of you I am

going to take on a special task." Stated Ash interrupting his pokemon's

cheering. All of the cheering had stopped as his pokemon began to wonder

who exactly which five of them he was talking about." Sceptile, Greninja,

Charizard, Oshawott, and Gible I will be taking you guys. The rest of you can

do whatever you

want, but you five will be coming with me in two hours understand." with

those words Ash walkedout of the shack, leaving the his pokemon with

confusion and jealousy.- two hours Later -" Your pokemon ready go Ash?" Red

asked awaiting their venture. Ash looked at his pokeballs with his disobedient

five in them and nodded." Yea just about, let's get going." Ash said as he

headed out of the lead the way through a small forest of trees and

while ash only followed. Ash was in deep thought however, he was starting to

feel bad about leaving Pikachu behind. Pikachu really wanted to go, but Ash

wanted this to be him and his five special pokemon alone. He then started to

wonder how Sceptile, Gible, Charizard, Greninja, and Oshawott would feel

about this. They weren't very enthusiastic with the other activities so it would

be likely that they aren't enthusiastic about this one either. The sky was

beginning to get darker and Ash could tell it was about to be 5:00. that meant

that whatever they were going to do was probably going to done at night.

After several hours they had arrived at an oddly shaped Colossal and rocky

hill. The hill was very jagged and would probably count as a small mountain if

not it being on Mt. Silver. What was even more surprising was the cave at the

very top of the hill and suddenly Ash had gotten an idea of what they were

going to do. Suddenly Red opened his backpack and took out a few pieces of 7

foot rope." Your task is to scale this large hill with nothing but your pokemon's

assistance. The catch is you and your pokemon will have one body part tied to

each other. To complete this task you will have to show the definition of

teamwork and manage to reach the top where I will be waiting for you."

Explained Red as he began to tie all of them together. Charizards wing was

tied to Greninja's leg and Sceptile's tail. Sceptile's tail was also tied to Ash's

arm and Ash's leg was tied to practically Gible's entire body. finally Oshawott's

arm was tied to both Ash's arm. Red then rode on his pidgeot to the top of the

hill quickly and began waiting to observe Ash and his pokemon's behavior."

Well guys I guess we should start." Said Ash. His pokemon only gave a

depressed sigh and began to attempt to walk with him. They could barely even

approach the the hill without falling down, it wasn't easy to walk with five

things tied to you. As they approached the hill ash started to notice a problem;

The hill was very steep and rocky, the only way up would be to rock climb

their way up. Normally this wouldn't be a problem for ash since he climbed

hills as part of his workout, but now that he was tied to his pokemon he didn't

know if they could even go up one foot. Before ash could think of another way

up his pokemon began to move and they each tried a step on the jagged hill.

They began to pull Ash right towards the hill and his pokemon, without any

plan, began to climb up slowly. Even Gible and Oshawott surprised Ash with

their solid climbing skills for their size. Ash's body was pulled straight into the

jagged rocks and what completely threw Ash for a loop was how he

wasbeginning to elevate off the ground, he always knew his pokemon were

strong, but not so much that they could lift him up. Ash's elevation was not a

pleasant one however, his pokemon climbed far too fast and aggressively for

him to catch his footing and begin to climb himself and as a result he was

constantly bumping into hard rocks on the way up. Eventually his pokemon

reached a suitable ledge for a little rest. Ash's pokemon didn't exactly pull Ash

up gingerly leaving him with cuts and bruises. Once Ash had regained his

focus he began to speak" Alright guys I think we should think of a new way to

climb up, maybe one that would be a little less painful." Ash said a little dizzy

from the intense ride. He then noticed that his pokemon had completely

ignored him and were about to begin to ascend again. Before ash could get

themto stop he was pulled straight into the hill again by the force of his

pokemon. Now Ash was getting mad his pokemon weren't even bothering to

listen to him right now, and they seemed to be disrespectinghim. Once him

and his pokemon reached another ledge they quickly pulled Ash up and he

was on the brink of losing his cool." okay guys that was really rude, you guys

should at least…" He was cut off mid sentence by the sight of these five

pokemon beginning to climb without listening to him at all. Ash just lost it."

STOP RIGHT NOW!" Yelled ash so loud that some of his pokemon back at the

cabin could've heard it. His pokemon certainly heard it as they were stopped

in their tracks and for the first time and turned to face him." I don't care if you

want to this activity or not, but I am your trainer, You will not continue to

show me this kind of treatment do I make myself clear." Ash said blowing off

some steam in the process. All five of the pokemon had angry looks on their

faces and all of them made their way closer to Ash. Ash wasn't expecting this

type of response, and was considering apologizing, but before he could each

one of his placed one paw or hand on him. Suddenly Ash became lost in his

own thoughts.( In Ash's mind )"Where am I." Ash said as he found himself in a

white room looking at Charizard, sceptile, Greninja, Oshawott, and Gible.

Suddenly Charizard began to speak."Who are you?" Charizard asked

surprising Ash"I'm Ash, come on you know me." Ash said a little irritated.

Then it was Sceptile's turn to speak."No you not the ash we know, you are

what's become of him." Sceptile said with a stern voice. Ash was left confused

by their comments."What do you mean?" asked Ash trying to find out what the

heck they were talking about. It was now Greninja's turn to speak."look at

yourself Ash, yelling at your pokemon for doing their job. Focusing on

becoming stronger instead of training them with joy. You plan to battle to

become stronger and not for the fun of it. You would always be in a hurry and

want to get things done quickly with no plan, but know you insist on having a

plan and slowing the pace down. You don't even have the same cheery

personality we all knew and loved. Where did the old you go." Greninja said

with a hint of sadness in his voice. Ash was left dumbstruck by his comments,

before he could responded Gible decided he would add on to the previous

statement"Ash we don't know what exactly happened to you, but we are

certain you've changed. The other pokemon may like it, but we don't." Gible

said laying even more of a reality check on to Ash. This was too much for

Ashto take in and he found himself unable to use words. Oshawott decided to

finish their argument."It's almost as if, you don't care about us anymore."

Oshawott said with very clear sadness. Suddenly Ash began to return to the

real world.(Back in reality )Ash had returned to the ledge, in which they were

currently on, he felt snow begin to come down a bit, but all he could think

about was what they had just said. It was true, he had changed. He did want

to become stronger and lost his cheery attitude, but what wasn't true was the

thought that he didn't care about his pokemon anymore. He cared more than

anything." Guys look I'm sorry, for everything. i have changed and I have

changed quite a lot. some people may not even be able to recognize me

anymore, but you're wrong. I do care more than anything in the world. Don't

you believe me?" Ash said from literally the bottom of his heart. All of Ash's

pokemon thought about it real hard, but then Oshawott spoke for all of them

by taking off the rope, walking towards the side of the ledge and shaking his

head in a no motion. Ash was left stunned by what he had just seen. His

pokemon really didn't believe him. While was trying to process what had just

happened the side of the ledge where Oshawott was standing had collapsed

and Oshawott fell with the ledge. Oshawott let out a shriek and Ash with no

hesitation removed his part of the rope and jumped right after Oshawott.

Oshawott was preparing to say his goodbye's when he felt an arm pull him in.

Oshawott looked up and saw ash holding on to him and then saw Ash just grab

a hold of a very small ledge. Ash was just barely holding on and said" Don't

worry Oshawott, I am not going to let go." Oshawott was astounded by these

words, this verified that ash had been telling the truth about caring the entire

time. Ash used all his might to hang on and even though it seemed like a

battle that couldn't be won, Ash knew he wasn't letting go. All of a sudden a

rope came down, Ash looked up and saw Sceptile, Greninja, Charizard, and

Gible directing them to grab on to it. Ash did as asked and slowly but surely

they were being rescued. The four pokemon used all their might to pull them

back up, they weren't going to let their trainer down. They eventually

managed to bring Ash and Oshawott all the way up. Once they were back on

the now smaller ledge Ash caught his breath and spoke up." Thanks guys, how

you doing Oshawott." Ash asked. His question was answered however by each

one of his pokemon taking Ash into a hug. This almost felt like his pokemon

were trying to say that they were sorry for not believing him. Suddenly

something clicked. Red always said he needed to bond his broken soul and

spirit with his pokemon and now he just did. He didn't know what gave him

the indication, but he felt as him his soul and spirit had been restored. In an

instant Ash knew everything about his pokemon, from how they were feeling

to how they saw their situation. He could sense this about his pokemon back

at the cabin as well. It was the type of feeling that was literally indescribable.

This all came very fast to ash and he became a little dizzy until he saw Red

hovering over them while riding his Pidgeot." Well done Ash, your soul and

spirit have been combined with all your pokemon. Stage one

is complete." Red said with a smile. Ash was still trying to get used to feeling

of knowing your pokemon's thoughts and was clearly acting a little confused."

You'll get used to that, this whole new feeling. Come on you and your pokemon

should hop a ride on my Dragonite and we should head back to the cabin." Ash

got up as Red released his Dragonite from a pokeball. Ash and his pokemon

had mounted on top of Dragonite, except Charizard who flew on his own, and

were surprised that their weight didn't effect Dragonite." Hey Ash, I'ma give

you about four days to get used to your new bond. After those four days

though we will finally begin pokemon training and battling." Red said as they

took off for the cabin. Ash was left happy that not only had he fixed his issues

with his pokemon, but he was one step closer to being a pokemon master now.

\- Four days Later -Ash was once again up early in the morning. However this

time he was up earlier than usual. Ash had become an early bird, but this time

it wasn't any later than 3:00 A.M. and he was sitting in the living roomwith

only a candle lit. He couldn't help it, he was far too excited to go back to

sleep. He was finally going to use all the training and bonding he received to

improve his skills as a Pokemon trainer. This was whathe had been waiting for,

this moment was the moment that he was so determined to reach. Ash could

tell his pokemon were ready too, all of them. With the exception of Bulbasaur,

and Pikachu all of his pokemon had evolved into their final form. It happened

rather quickly too, for some reason his pokemon were evolving non stop in

just a few days, usually people had to raise pokemon for quite a while before

they devolved. Ash had concluded that this was simply because of the unique

bond that he shared with them, which he was still getting used to, and how it

might of triggered some sort of switch that speeds up their development. Ash

had been wondering off in thought for quite some time now, oblivious to the

fact that the sky began to brighten up." You know Ash, you may want to try

something great out called sleep some day." Red said entering the room and

unsurprised by Ash's presence. Ash was caught off guard and then looked over

at Red with a confused look. Then he looked outside and saw the gray sky and

wondered how long he had been up for." What can I say Red, for the first time

in a long time I am legitimately excited." Ash answered with a hintof

embarrassment." I'll make sure to make all the hype worth it, but right now I

need to show you something." Red said with a chuckle and calm tone. Ash

merely nodded and began to follow Red into his room. Red the pushed a

specific book deeper into his book shelf and suddenly two hidden doors

opened. Ash curiously walked into this hidden room only to run into a wall.

Then Ash began to realize that the room was very small anddark. Red turned

on the lights and suddenly his collection appeared. It was a room filled with

nothing butpokeballs, all of them Red's. Ash astonished by all of the pokeballs,

there must of been at least 200." Well Ash, what do you think? These are all

my pokemon and your pokemon will be training from them." Red said as he

gazed at the room himself." These are all yours?" Ash asked, he never knew

Red was such a great trainer." Yep each and everyone, they will help teach

your pokemon how to use new tricks and moves." Red stated as he picked

about 15 up and placed them into his bag. Ash wasn't going to question Red's

pokemon's abilities, he had faith in Red's pokemon." We start in an hour, have

all your pokemon out by then." Red said as he began to pull Ash out of the

room. Normally Ash would whine about being able to wait that long, but right

now he was willing to be patient.- 1 Hour Later -All of Ash's pokemon were

outside waiting for Red to give order, Ash had already told them to listen to all

of Red's instructions before so they were used to listening to Red." Alright

guys we are going to begin intense pokemon training so I want all water

pokemon to head over to the frozen lake with my Blastoise, all fire pokemon to

follow my Charizard to the woods, all Grass to follow my Venusaur over near

those hills, any dragon or flying type to follow Dragonite and Pidgeot, and the

rest will follow Steelix, Machamp, and Crobat. Me and Ash will visit all of you

shortly, now go on and start training. After about 7 hours we will begin one on

one battles. Okay let's get started." Proclaimed Red as all the pokemon were

following their orders." Ash I want to show your pokemon some new tricks so

have him stay with you." Red told Ash, Ash was ready for anything." Okay you

ready Pikachu?" Ash asked" Pika Pika " Pikachu responded" Alright I want you

to tell Pikachu to use thunderbolt and see what happens." Red order Ash. Ash

was a bit surprised by the order, but decided to not question it." Pikachu use

thunderbolt." Ash yelled, Pikachu obey and started sparking up. Except when

the thunder bolt was released it had a blue lightning shape and came

extremely fast. Ash was stunned he told Pikachu to use thunderbolt but blue

lightning came out. Pikachu was also confused by his actions."

Congratulations Ash Pikachu has learned Lightning. Lightning is a far more

powerful and quicker than a thunderbolt. Think of it like a far more advance

version that is only unlocked when your soul is intertwined with your electric

type pokemon." Red informed Ash, leaving both Ash and Pikachu with the

same expression as before ' cool '." Now I want you to practice it against this

pokemon." Red said as he released his pikachu from its pokeball. Ash was

excited to try out Pikachu's new move even if he hasn't mastered it yet. Both

Pikachus got into battle position and Ash acted first." Pikachu use lighting!"

Ash called out. Pikachu shot the lighting with incredible speed." Pikachu

dodge it." Red called out calmly as his Pikachu somehow moved out of the way

right before getting hit." Pikachu Lightning again!" Ash called out and Pikachu

fired another Lightning attack only to be somehow dodged again." Pikachu

Triple bolt." Red called out and suddenly three slower lightning bolts were

released at once." Pikachu dodge all of them by using your quick attack." Ash

called out trying to use Red's tactic. Pikachu was able to escape the first one,

but then the second and third one hit Pikachu out of nowhere. Ash's Pikachu

was out and the battle was over." Pikachu!" Ash yelled out while running

towards his best friend." Pikapi" Pikachu whispered" Pikachu, I'm sorry." Ash

whispered back." It's time you stop getting down on yourself so much Ash.

Here give this to Pikachu." Red handed Ash an odd looking berry and he fed it

to Pikachu. Pikachu's energy was quickly restored. Ash was again amazed by

one of Red's actions." Look Ash I want to that battle over again some other

time, but right now I want you to tell Pikachu to use, except this time I want

you to focus on Pikachu's mind hard before you use it." Umm, Okay Pikachu

use lighting." Ash called out and Pikachu began to generate blue sparks. Ash

focused on Pikachu as hard as he could and suddenly he began to view the

world from Pikachu's point of view. The lightning that was released was much

more precise and accurate from the ones before." Perfect, now I want you to

do the same thing except this time I am going to through this small pebble

and you have to hit it out of the sky." Red said as he began to pick up a pebble

that you could barely see. Ash was just focused on doing the exact same thing.

Red threw the pebble in the air and Pikachu prepared his sparks. Ash began

to concentrate on Pikachu's soul and in an instant he saw everything from

Pikachu's eyes, once Pikachu fired the lightning Ash concentrated harder and

helped guide the attack. The attack was a bull's eye, the pebble was

vaporized." Very good, now Ash the reason your Pikachu's attack was all over

the place in our battle was because it tried to hit its target on its own. Now

that you've connected souls with Pikachu you can see the world through

Pikachu's perspective and help control the attack, thus the attack's accuracy

increased tremendously." Red finished informing Ash about his abilities. Ash

was amazed, his new bond with his pokemon brought many cool and useful

abilities as well." This is just the beginning Ash." Red said grabbing Ash's

attention, he knew Ash would be in more surprises to come.- Two Weeks Later

-Two weeks had past since Ash and his pokemon began training their battling

skills. In these two weeks Ash's pokemon had become more powerful than

they ever have in all Ash's years of regular training. Lots of the new moves

that Ash's pokemon learned were both cool and powerful to say the least.

Ash's fire pokemon, except Talonflame, had learned wildfire. A move in which

the pokemon punches the grounds to created large spreading fires that

quickly engulfed the entire battlefield and delivered devastating burns to its

opponents. All of his flying pokemon unlocked the move Skydive. A move in

which the pokemon flies to great heights and dives down at its opponent at

nearly the speed of sound, it was nearly impossible to dodge. Garchomp's

strength had increased exponentially. Garchomp's giga impact was so strong

that it would devastate any pokemon who would use the move protect. His

Grass pokemon had developed the move photosynthesis. A move that would

take in sunlight in and then restore all health and energy of the pokemon. His

water pokemon had discovered the move down pour. This move shot multiple

water pulses one by one at rapid speed. Once you got caught in downpour,

there was no escaping the bombardment of water pulses. Glalie and a few

other water pokemon had been taught the move frostbite. This wasn't a very

complex move it just drastically lowered the temperature, of the pokemon

using the attack, to the point that any contact would cause severe freezingto

the opponent pokemon. All of his pokemon in general had learned either new

moves or new abilities and with Ash's soul connected with theirs, these moves

and abilities were controllable. Ash knew however he still had one more goal

to accomplish before his training was complete, he needed to beat Red.- Two

Weeks Later -Ash and his pokemon got up early in the morning and began

doing their usual pre training routine. Most pokemon who could walk or run

would constantly run up large hills and back to build up endurance. The flying

pokemon would fly from Mt. Silver to towns in as little time as possible in

order to build enduranceand speed. A small group of pokemon consisting of

Garchomp, Sceptile, Pikachu, and Charizard were practically torturing

themselves by lying in the ice cold water of lakes for several

hours. Ash didn't approve of this action since he knew those lakers were

about -55°F and he didn't want to imagine the pain they went through, but he

knew they would do with stand any kind of pain if it made them tougher. Ash

then noticed Red walking up to them with a grin." Looks like you guys are

excited for today's training." Red said while yawning, indicating he had just

gotten up." I wouldn't say excited, I would say preparing is a better word for

this situation." Ash said as he gazed at his pokemon's routines." Oh you guys

are definitely prepared for today." Red said with mysterious looking grin."

What do you mean?" Asked a confused Ash." You and pokemon are ready for

today's battle. A three on three in two hours, just to examine how

muchdevelopment you have made." Red responded clearing up Ash confusion.

Ash remained silent, Red could tell Ash was in deep thought so he decided to

just leave him alone for a bit. After Red left Ash cracked a rare grin and said"

Can't wait."- Two Hours Later -" You ready Ash?" Red ask reaching for his first

pokeballs." I've been ready for a while now." Ash responded confidently." We'll

see about that. Alright Dragonite lets go!" Red yelled as the large orange

dragon arose from its pokeball. Ash ready knew who to use." Garchomp I

choose you." Ash yelled as he threw Garchomp's pokeball in the air. Garchomp

awoke witha hunger for battle and once it laid eyes on Dragonite, Garchomp

knew he this would definitely answer his call. Red and Ash stared each other

down for a bit, neither one of them wanting to make the first move. Red

eventually grew tired of this and took action." Dragonite use Dragon Pulse."

Dragonite immediately began shooting a large dragon figure towards

Garchomp." Garchomp use your Dragon Pulse." Garchomp shot back a Dragon

pulse of its own, both attacks neutralized each other out, it was clear they

were even in strength." Garchomp charge at Dragonite with Giga impact."

Garchomp began surrounding its body in a purplish orb and charged straight

for Dragonite." Dragonite protect." Dragonite began surrounding its body in a

green sphere, readying itself for the collision. Both Ash and Red knew this

collision would put their test pure strength to the test. Garchomp and

Dragonite collided and an instance explosion occurred from the collision.

Snow was pushed straightinto the air and both trainers were anxiously

awaiting the results of the impact. When the snow cloud cleared there stood a

Garchomp kneeling on one knee and a Dragonite on its paws and knees,

neither would let something like that take them out." Dragonite fly at

Garchomp at use Dragon claw." Dragonite quickly flew straight for Garchomp

and prepared its claws." Garchomp dodge at the last second." Garchomp did

just that swiftly moving out of the reach of Dragonite's claws." Now use

Dragon tail." Garchomp wasted no time after dodging Dragonite's claws and

immediately used dragon tail." Perfect, Dragonite use your claws to grab

Garchomp's tail." Dragonite used its attack as asked and grabbed a firm grip

of Garchomp's tail." Now use seismic toss." Dragonite carried Garchomp

straight into the sky and started grabbing a tighterhold of Garchomp.

Dragonite then dove straight down while holding Garchomp. The biggest thing

Ash learned from all the training, remain focused and use the opponent's

strategy to your advantage." Garchomp grab a tight hold of Dragonite as

well." Garchomp was able to grab on to Dragonite's back." Now use GIGA

IMPACT." Garchomp giga impact dramatically accelerated the downward fall

and increased the force of the impact. The two psuedo legendaries hit the

snow covered ground with a forcethat made their first collision look like a

simple shove. A massive bang was heard and a small snow storm brew up

from the impact itself. After the snow was cleared Garchomp was on its hands

and knees, terribly exhausted from battle. Dragonite however was on its back,

fainted and out of commission." Great job Garchomp, way to hang in there!"

Ash cheered seeing his Garchomp take down Red's invincible Dragonite."

Return Dragonite." Dragonite was called back into its pokeball. Red had only

thing to say." I'm proud of you." Red said as he put the pokeball away and

quickly picked his next pokemon." Pikachu get ready." Pikachu came out of its

pokeball with its game face on. When Garchomp saw Pikachu it tried to get

up, but fainted while trying." I couldn't be prouder, return Garchomp." Ash

recalled Garchomp and already knew who he would use next." Samurott I

choose you." Ash yelled as he threw Samurott's pokeball onto the field.

Samurott came out with the same look of determination as Ash." Pikachu

double team." Pikachu started to make multiple copies of itself and began

using quick attack to swiftly charge at Samurott." Samurott sweep through

them with downpour." Samurott fired a series of water pulses that swept

through all pikachu copies, but it didn't hit the real Pikachu and was quickly

struck by an electro ball. Samurott was shaken up by the electro ball when

Pikachu came in charging with a quick attack." Samurott use frostbite."

Samurott froze its arms and used them to catch pikachu straight out of its

quick attack. The frostbite made itself effective the moment the moment it

came into contact with Pikachu and Pikachu's body began to become frozen.

Pikachu was also noticeably becoming fatigued by the attack and Red realized

how dire of a situation his Pikachu was in. He needed to end this now."

Pikachu use Volt Tackle to break through your frozen state and charge at

Samurott. " Pikachu did indeed break through the ice and began spinning with

furiously as it charged at Samurott." Samurott use Hydro Pump to stop

Pikachu in its tracks." A large blast of water came out of Samurott's mouth

and hit Pikachu with force. Pikachu's volt tackle slowed down, but it definitely

didn't stop as it made its way through the Hydro pump." Pikachu DON'T

STOP."" Samurott keep firing FULL POWER." Samurott kept up the powerful

Hydro Pump, and Pikachu's volt tackle slowed down even more. Pikachu was

still willing itself through the Hydro Pump at a slower pace,but still going.

Samurott didn't have the endurance of Pikachu however and it could keep its

attack goinglike Pikachu. Samurott stopped its attack and Pikachu seized the

opportunity by accelerating towards Samurott. Pikachu crashed into Samurott

with great force causing Samurott to be thrown viciously by the attack. Ash

didn't need to look to know that Samurott was finished. What he hadn't

expected to see however was Red's Pikachu also fainted by the impact." Great

job, return Samurott." Ash recalled his fainted pokemon." Return Pikachu,

Excellent work." Red recalled his Pikachu and reached for his final pokemon."

Charizard let's show them our power." Red yelled as he called for his first ever

pokemon." Pikachu it's your turn." Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and

prepared for battle. Red smirked as he was about to show Ash one more

surprise." Ash this will be the ultimate test of your improvement. Charizard

MEGA EVOLVE!"

Charizard began to transform, his wings grew and his overall size increased.

The necklaces across its neck became a unexplainable ray of energy that

connected with a beam of energy that came from a bracelet on Red's wrist.

When the transformation was complete a large black and blue Charizard

emerged with blue flames coming out it's nostrils. Mega Charizard then let

out a large roar and released a large blue fire breath in the process. Ash

wasn't intimidated however, he had faced Megas before and defeated them. A

moment of silence struck up between Ash and Red, both waiting for the other

to make a move. Ash broke the silence this time." Pikachu use quick attack."

Pikachu began charging extremely fast towards Mega Charizard." Charizard

use a large flame thrower to keep that Pikachu away." Mega Charizard shot

huge blue flames to form a fire wall. Pikachu didn't stop however and jumped

straight through the flame walls without much of a loss of acceleration, even

Mega Charizard had a shocked expression." Pikachu switch to Volt Tackle."

Pikachu did that and began spinning rapidly and increased its charge towards

Mega Charizard." Knock it back with Dragon Claw." Mega Charizard's claws

tremendously grew and slashed its claws right at the chargingPikachu.

Pikachu was sent flying right out of its Volt Tackled and directly into a near by

tree. Pikachu left a large dent in the strong tree, but got up even more

hungry." Pikachu use quick attack and charge up an electro ball." Pikachu

used quick attack again while carrying an electro ball on its tail." Use steel

wing and run that rodent over." Charizard's wings grew and glowed green as

it began flying directly towards Pikachu." Pikachu keep charging your electro

ball." Pikachu's electro ball started enlarging rapidly and and prepared itself

for a launch. Mega Charizard continued to fly towards Pikachu, but had its eye

on the electro ball. Just before the collision Ash made one quick adjustment."

Pikachu launch your electro ball straightforward and grab on Charizard's

wing." Pikachu shot the large electro ball and easily missed Mega Charizard,

but bounced off a tree and headed backwards. Pikachu then jumped onto

Mega Charizard's wing, but struggled to stay on. Mega Charizard then

continued to head straight as it tried to run into a large hillwith Pikachu on its

wing. All of sudden however Mega Charizard was hit from behind by the same

electro ball that missed earlier. Charizard was heavily phased which led to a

wide open opportunity." Knock him out with Iron Tail." Pikachu jump off

Charizard's wing and hit Charizard dead on with its devastating Iron Tail. Now

Charizard was sent flying into the ground. Mega Charizard got up slowly, but

even more hungry. Ash wasn't going tolet it recover however." Use Triple

bolt." Pikachu shot out three thunderbolts going off in different directions, but

all were aimed towards Mega Charizard." Charizard fly up to maneuver

around those thunderbolts." Mega Charizard got up quickly and began flying

around to try and avoid the three thunder bolts. Swiftly constantly moving left

and right Mega Charizard was able tl dodge each thunderbolt, but ran into

another attack." Now Parabolic Charge." Pikachu started sending out

electricity from every direction and struck Mega Charizard. Pikachu's energy

was being restored the longer that Mega Charizard was caught in the attack."

Charizard come on will through it." Red screamed causing Mega Charizard to

finally break the attack. However it seemedthat Pikachu was all charged up

now for the finishing blow." Pikachu use for fastest Volt tackle and finish this."

Pikachu began spinning and charging straight at Mega Charizard. Reddecided

that he needed to stop Pikachu's attack at all cost or he would surely lose."

Charizard use your strongest Blast Burn to stop Pikachu in its tracks." Mega

Charizard punched the ground causing enormous flames to head straight at

Pikachu. A colossal explosion occurred sending Ash and Red flying into the

ground themselves. A long period of silence occurred as the smoke settled.

Once the smoke cleared Pikachu emerged out running full speed at Mega

Charizard." Now FINISH IT WITH LIGHTNING!" Ash screamed as he got up.

Pikachu quickly charged up and fired a Hasty Blue lightning Bolt. Mega

Charizard was too stunned to move out of the way and was hit directly. Mega

Charizard simply was hit and fell down hurt and paralyzed. The battle was

over." Pikachu... I'm so proud." Ash cried as he ran towards Pikachu to huge

him." Charizard Return." Red said softly in a defeated tone. Charizard was

recalled into its Pokeball, Red looked at it for a while before saying one more

thing." I couldn't be more proud."

Red just stood their, watching Ash celebrate with his pokemon. Red couldn't

lie, it hurt him to be defeated by someone. Hehadn't been beaten in a long

time, this was actually the first pokemon battle he has had since a time when

he was on top of the world. Red pushed away the painful memory for a

moment and decided to feel proud of Ash and how far he has come since

losing the Kalos league a few months ago. Red felt proud that Ash had never

backed down from his unorthodox training, the memory of Ash's pain suddenly

brought a wave of guilt on to Red's conscious. Although Red's training tactics

were harsh and inhumane, they were 100% necessary. The potential was

always there, it just needed somehelp to be pulled straight out of him and the

idea that Red was the one to do help him out made him smile. Red now walked

up to confront him and congratulate him." Ash, I have to be honest. You are

one of the strongest trainers I have ever witnessed." Claimed Red as he came

to the embracing partnership. Ash was caught off guard by Red's bold

statement, but Ash couldn't help but bring out a smile." You definitely have the

skill set now to be a Pokémon master." Red said bringing even more

excitement to Ash." However, in order to become a Pokémon Master you need

to reach 3 extremely exclusive qualifications to even worthy of the

opportunity. I happen to know what each of them is, but I will only tell you one

at this very moment. You will be informed of the second qualification after you

achieve the first qualifications." Said Red informing Ash of his next move. Ash,

however was a little skeptical of this Red's knowledge." No offense, but do I

know that you actually know all the qualifications. And if you are right, how do

you know all this information." Ash simply had to know, even though he

trusted Red. Red hoped not to reveal his past to Ash just yet, so he decided to

keep his past secretive." Honestly Ash you have no logical reason to trust me.

All I have done is torture you and improved your bond with your pokemon. No,

you don't know if what I am telling is fact or not, but I know one thing that is

fact. If you are determined to achieve your dream, then it doesn't matter if

this information is real or not." Red responded with nothing but the truth, the

whole truth, and nothing but the truth from all sides of his argument. This

showing of honesty made Ash's answer a no brainer." So what's the first of the

three qualifications I need to complete?" Ash asked showing that he had given

into Red's persuasion." The first thing you need to do is be recognized as the

most powerful trainer in world." Red replied leaving Ash confused on how

someone claims that official title." What do you mean like become champion of

a region?" Asked Ash confused by how he would achieve this." Well not that

way, but there are a number of ways. Extremely rarely the league will host a

top 64 best of the best tournament by using rankings to place a trainer in a

specific seed of the bracket. However I am not sure when the next one will

occur or if you even qualify for one due to lack of major league wins. The

other way is much more time consuming, but is guaranteed to work. You

would have to win every league form every region and defeat every

by no means will you be allowed to keep an title of

champion. What also happens is that the Pokémon League will post rankings

of all the best trainers based on awards. These awards do not have to only

include battling trophies, so if you could win a lot of coordinating awards or

become a professional breeder along with your league awards your ranking

would sky rocket. Obtaining the number 1 rank will count as being recognized

as the best trainer in all the land. Whatever you decide to , you have the

ability to achieve. Honestly all these cocky so called ' champions ' have no idea

what they are in for." Red finished presenting Ash with all these options, and

decided to let him think about it. Ash was playing out every scenario in his

mind until Red decided to give him more news." Well now that your training is

complete, I recommend you leave soon and return to your families contact."

Red said interrupting Ash's train of thought. As Ash thought about Red's

advice, he realized that he was right, it was time to go.- 3 Hours Later -" When

will be the next I see you." Ash asked as he was reminiscing the 2 months he

had spent in Mt. Silver." Come back when you have completed your first task,

then see me and I will inform you of the second qualification." Red said as he

was also reminiscing the growth that Ash showed. Ash came in a foolish boy,

but had come out determined man." Okay thanks, for everything." Ash

responded while holding out his hand for a formal handshake." Don't thank

me, thank yourself for never giving up." Red replied as firmly gave Ash a

worthy handshake. With those words Ash left, heading down Mt. Silver and

back to Pallet Town. With Pikachu on his shoulder and the rest of his pokemon

in his bag. Ash was once again stuck in deep thought. He came to the

realization that Red not only helped him become a stronger trainer, he helped

shape him into the honorable man he is.

Ash was walking down Mt. Silver casually, the cold that crippled him before no

longer had any effect on him. It was at this moment that Ash had began to

wonder how is mother and friends would react to this new him. He wasn't as

energetic as before, nor did he get excited very often. He was much more

serious now and always remained focused on the task at hand. Maybe what

his loved ones would notice would be his new appetite or lack there of. Ash no

longer had his casual unhealthy and large appetite, now he ate no as much

and much healthier. Now Ash was getting concerned, based on his diet alone

his friends and family may think he would be some sort of imposter." Pikapika

" Pikachu said as he tapped Ash on the check and began to point forward. Ash

was snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Pikachu." What is

it buddy?" Ash asked as he wondered what Pikachu needed. Ash then looked

towards the direction that Pikachu was pointing and was surprised by what he

saw. They had already reached the bottom Mt. Silver. Now Ash was completely

confused because it felt as if they left only half an hour ago." Pikapi PikaPika

Pi" Pikachu told Ash, who translated it to ' we've been walking for two hours,

but you have been too busyworrying about how people will react to the new

you.' Normally Ash would complain back, but he realized that thinking was

something that he did more often now and decided that Pikachu was

completely right.- 4 hours later -After about 4 hours of nonstop walking Ash

had made it back to Kanto and was passing by the Indigo league. Ash noticeda

small kid talking to his father and when he heard the words ' Pokemon' and '

Master ' in the same phrases he began to listen in." Really daddy, if me and

Squirtle work really hard we could someday be Pokemon Masters?" The small

boy asked his father. The boy seemed to be a little younger than 10 and

incredibly naive" Of course son, if you give it your all you will always find

success." The dad replied to his son's question, he seemed like avery

optimistic person. While Ash liked the message that the father was trying to

give, he didn't agree with it one bit. Ash thought back to how he would always

give it his in every league for about 4 years and he never found the success he

was looking for. It took training from a complete stranger, whose tactics

almost cost Ash his life, for Ash to finally reach the level he wanted to reach.

Ash felt bad for the kid now, believing that success comes to good people who

try hard is just a false statement. Ash stopped listening to the conversation, all

these sudden realizations were making him depressed.- 2 Hours later -After

over 6 hours of non-stop walking Ash had finally arrived in Pallet Town. Ash

currently was standing on top of a hill, the very same hill that Ash stood on

when he came back from a journey, the same one that gave a clear landscape

view of his house. Most of the time Ash would be excited to come home, he

loved seeing his mom again and telling her stories of his travels. This time

however Ash came back a different person. It's not like he is ashamed of

himself, but he's concernedhow his loved ones would react to seeing the new

him. Ash decided his best bet was to conceal it for a while and show slow

change over time, at least way they won't be overwhelmed with all of his

changes. Ash broke into sprint all the way down the hill to make it seem like

he was energetic and excited. Delia heard the running and immediately knew

it was. Sheopened the door and allowed him to run through it." I didn't know

my little Ash would come back so soon." Delia stated sarcastically, in reality

she couldn't be happier seeing her son home." Hey mom, yea I'm back not

sure for how long, but for now yea." Ash replied." You just being safe is good

enough for me. So do have any travel stories you could tell me about?" Delia

asked eager to hear about Ash's adventure. Ash thought for a moment, but

only the memories of torture came to mind and there was no way he would let

his mother know about that." Umm, well I can't think of any right now." Ash

responded a little defensive, Delia memory was triggered at this moment." Oh

well that's okay, you can think of some later. Right now you should get to

Professor Oak's lab, he wanted to you to come over immediately when you

can." Delia said as she remembered that Professor Oak needed to tell Ash

something important." Oh ok then I'm on my way, see ya." Ash responded as

he headed out of his house and towards Professor Oak's Lab. Ashdidn't run,

but he did jog out of his house and jogged past the kitchen leaving Delia

surprised." Huh that's strange, Ash almost never heads out without eating at

least something and he even ran past the kitchen without smelling the pie I

had baked." Delia said to herself as she looked towards the pie." Professor

Oak, I'm back and I brought my pokemon back as I promised." Ash called out,

he had just remembered the promise he made to Professor Oak before he left

for his journey. Professor Oak came out of a different room with Mr. Goodshow

by his side. Ash wasn't expecting Mr. Goodshow to be here too." Hello there

Ash it's good to see you back from your journey. As you can see Mr. Goodshow

is with me as well." Professor Oak said as he entered." Good too see you again

Ash, I have wonderful news." Mr. Goodshow said as he pulled out something

from his brief case." Oh really, what is it." Ash asked intrigued by what Mr.

Goodshow had to tell him." A long time ago a special 64 person tournament

was held every 25 years where the strongest trainer in the world was

crowned, however this tradition was ended because of the constant fights and

chaos that broke out whenever a winner was crowned and people from non

winning regions would riot in anger. Well we have decided to revive such

tradition this year and hold 15th installment of the Ultimate Pokemon League

Tournament in two months in a special island that only rises from the sea once

every 5 years for about 2 weeks. Most of the people participating in will be

Champions, members of the elite four, or trainers who have multiple pokemon

league victories. In fact all except one, you." Mr. Goodshow announced as he

held out a certificate that had Ash's name on it and said ' Will contend in

Ultimate Pokemon League Tournament'. Ash was stunned, he remembered

Red saying something about this but never imagined him getting an invitation.

Ash then realized a huge question in his mind, why." Wow this is an

unbelievable honor, but why me? I haven't even won a league and I'm

supposed to compete as one of 64 best trainers in the world, what is your

reasoning if I may ask." Ash asked confused to why Ash would get the nod

over others who have won Pokemon Leagues. Mr. Goodshow took a deep

breath and began to speak." You know Ash, I've seen a lot of Pokemon

Leagues in my day. To no one's surprise I have often seen you as one of the top

competitors in those leagues. Yeah I suppose you haven't won one yet, but

each time I see you battle I am flat out blown away by your passion and you

craftyness. You always give it your all, you always find away to get back into

battles and defy all odds. Although this ability has not led you to the top yet,

you carry the same amount of passion through everybattle win or lose. So

when I choose the people I want to compete in this world wide event I am

looking for people who make trainers seem honorable and will make the

crowd say ' WOW '. It is for this reason that I chose you over people who have

won leagues." Mr. Goodshow said with nothing but praise for Ash. Ash was

taken back by this level of praise from such high of a source." Wow, thank

you." Was all that Ash said, he was speechless." I take that as an acceptance to

my offer. Well I should explain to you the rules. The 64 of you will be split up

into four regional groups, the East, the West, the north, and the south regions.

There will be 16 competitors in each regional group and you guys will be

ordered 1-16 based on your rank in the world. The opening round will be

called the round of 64 and will go like this in each regional group: The top

seed will face 16th seed, the 2nd seed will face the 15th seed, 3rd seed will

face the 14th seed, 4th seed will face the 13th seed and so on until we get to

the 8th vs 9th battle. Once this round is over we move on to the round of 32

where the the winner of the 1st vs 16th matchup will face the winner of the 8

vs 9, the winner of the 2nd vs 15th will face the winner of the 7th vs 10, the

winner of the 4th vs 13th faces the winner of the 5 vs 12matchup, and the

winner of the of the 3rd vs 14th match goes on to face the winner of the 6 vs

11 matchup." Mr. Goodshow paused for a deep breath."From there we move

on to the sweet sixteen round, by this point the 64 trainers will be narrowed

down to 16. Then to the elite eight, where we will decide who is the winner of

each regional group. The four winners will compete in the Final Four, in the

biggest stadium in the world, and finally we have the world championship

match, which will be on the same stadiumas the final four. If you need more

info you can look at this bracket." Mr. Goodshow said as gasped for air while

handing Ash a layout of the tournament rounds." Wow, thanks again Mr.

Goodshow." Ash said as he looked at the layout." One more thing Ash. This

competition gets really emotional with people hoping that someone from their

region takes home the title. You are definitely a 16th seed and will be facing a

champion in the first round so let's just say your odds of winning are slim. Also

be prepared to walk into a stadium with tens of thousands of people cheering

for the opposing champion and booing you." Professor Oak added as a side

note." I'll keep that in mind." Ash said while thinking about Professor Oak's

caution. This made Ash a little nervous, he had never battled

in what seemed like a hostile environment where people boo and cheer with

so much passion. Pokemon leagues were more formal battles, but here people

would make chants, cheer loud, and boo whenever they watched someone

from their region compete. Usually Ash would be intimidated, but now he used

this as motivation.' I am going to shock the world by debuting my new abilities

as a trainer, then everyone will see how strong I've become ' Ash thought in

his mind.

" Ash Ketchum has done it, he is the greatest trainer in the world. " The

announcer claimed as Ash won the championship match. The entire Kanto

region was overjoyed that someone from their region had claimed the title of

strongest in the world. The whole region began to chant" Ash! Ash! Ash! Ash!

Ash! Ash! Ash!"" Ash, Ash, Ash wake up." Delia calmly said as she gently

pushed Ash to wake up." Huh what, Mom I was having the greatest dream

ever." Ash said a little annoyed of being woken up from an awesome dream."

Well if your dream involved winning the tournament then you're only about

half an hour away from the place where your dream could become a reality."

Delia said in her usual cheery voice. Ash immediately looked out the window

of their planeand saw an island in the visible distance." You mean?" Ash asked

to confirm his suspicions, Delia answered and finished his question." Yep, in

less than half an hour we will arrive in Champions Island." Delia replied

confirming Ash's suspicions. Ash wide awake now, this was the first time in a

long time he felt like his old self.- In Mt. Silver -Red was sitting on the steps

that led to his cabin patiently awaiting his Pidgeot to return from its daily fly

around the Johto and Kanto regions. Pidgeot quickly came into view and

landed on Red's shoulder." So anything interesting happen on your flight?"

Red asked not expecting any serious response from Pidgeot." Pidgeooot,

Pidgeeoooot " Pidgeot cried out informing Red of its discovery. Red was

surprised initially." You mean you heard that they are reopening the Ultimate

Pokemon League Tournament and you saw Ash on a the participant plane

heading towards the island?" Red asked making sure he understood Pidgeot

right" Pidgeoot " Pidgeot replied confirming Red's understanding." I thought

they had closed that tournament indefinitely because of brutality and

inhumanity. Wait if Ash if competing, I doubt many people know about him and

how strong he has become." Red said out loud to only Pidgeot, he began to

devise a clever plan." That's it, even though we don't have exclusive passes to

watch the competition in person doesn't mean we can't hit up the casinos and

head towards the betting lounge. Pidgeot get ready to flg we are heading to

Champion Island's. World famous casino and are going to make a lot of money.

As long as Ash doesn't forfeit we should win every round." Red quickly ran

inside to grab a disguise and couldn't keep his mouth from watering when he

imagined how much money he would make.- With Ash -Ash and Delia got of

the plane with their luggage strapped around their backs. The lower seeded

tournament participants would arrive first so the island wasn't completely

filled up yet. Be that as it may all the families of the lower ranking competitors

were dressed up with shirts that said the name of the region or had the name

of the region tattooed on their arms. Ash even noticed a bunch of banners,

signs, and megaphones. The tournament didn't kickoff until tomorrow at 7:00

P.M, but people were already showing their spirit. The schedule went like this:

the lower ranking competitors would arrive first and get a decent apartment

to stay at, then most of other competitors would arrive a few hours later and

would receive an upgrade at living space, late at night the top competitors

would show up which included Champions and members of the Elite Four who

would be treated to the highest degree. The next day many planes would land

and everyone who was simply observing the tournament would arrive. The

island must be enormous because total attendance would be nearing the

millions. Most of the people who were there to watch would pay a very

expensive amount of money just to be allowed to enter, famous people would

be invited to first class seats and treatment throughoutthe tournament if they

paid extra. None of this concerned Ash however, all he was concerned about

was winning. Although the complete bracket was out, Ash didn't dare to look

at it. To him it didn't matter whether it was Lance, Cynthia, or Diantha he

would win and to make it fair he wouldn't give his opponent the element of

surprise by not knowing who he would face." Okay Ash where would you like

to see first?" Delia asked hoping to get some sight seeing in this trip." Actually

mom, I'm just gonna stay at our apartment until my match tomorrow." Ash

replied as he started walking towardstheir apartment leaving Delai surprised."

Huh that's weird. Ash always wants to explore a new area before any else. I

guess it might be opening jitters." Delia said to herself trying to make sense of

what just happened.- Very Early Next Morning -Ash awoke in an empty room

with silence all around him. He looked outside and found that the sky was still

pitch black, he then looked at the clock next to his bed and saw that it read

3:01 A.M.. Ash was a little upset to see that his trait of waking up extremely

early had followed him back to his regular life, but then saw this as an

opportunity to look around theisland in peace. When Ash went outside he

became relieved that no one was awake and all the lights were off. Ash

wondered around the residential section of the island where all the

competitors were staying and was blown away by some of the homes he saw."

Champions sure make themselves comfortable. " Ash said silently as he gazed

at the tall mansions that were being usedas homes. A different idea hit Ash at

this moment' How is it that this island is only around for two weeks every five

years, but there are all these colossal buildings around ' Ash made a self note

to look up the island's history some other time. After a while of wondering

around Ash ran into a large stadium. This must of been one of the regional

bracket stadiums because it wasn't mind blowing large and looked fairly basic

elliptical shape. Ash walked to the center of the stadium and saw vast

numbers of empty seats. Ash consciously pictured the stadium full with people

from Kanto cheering him on and chanting his name. He pictured himselffinally

making his region proud." Soon " Ash said quietly as he began to exit the

stadium and head back before anyone sees him.- Later in the day -" I can't

believe you don't want to leave the apartment Ash, have you seen the stores

here." Delia said as she entered the apartment with her hands full of shopping

bags." I don't think I would've liked going shopping again, besides all I want to

do is just think." Ash responded laying on his bed and looking at the ceiling.

Delia entered Ash's room and placed her bags on the ground and placed her

hands on her hips." Ash in case you haven't realized all you have done for

preparation is lay on your bed and ' think '." Delia stated annoyed that Ash

hadn't done anything with the wonderful opportunities this island has given

them. Delia also consciously wondered why Ash was so obsessed with thinking

now." I just want to make sure I'm mentally prepared for the tournament." Ash

replied in a calm tone, even though he was getting annoyed with Delia's

reluctance of leaving him alone." Well while you have been here in solitude, I

have been getting my gear ready for your big match to open the

tournament."Delia said as she pulled out a Kanto T-shirt, Kanto hat, a staff

that was blue and gold and had Kanto engraved, a blue Kanto mega phone,

and a foam finger that says ' Ash is #1 '. Ash's slight anger vanished in instant

because the idea that his mother would be his corner through thick and thin

brought a rare smile to his face." Well in three hours you'll officially put your

spirit to the test." Ash said as he gazed upon the the foam finger.- Opening

ceremony -Ash knew he was going to be in the opening match of the

tournament. In his group, the Southern Regional, was the 16 seed going

against the 1st seed, definitely a champion. Ash had already picked his three

Pokemon and wasn't afraid of the big stage. He was in his participant's seat,

along with the 63 other contestants, patiently awaiting Mr. Goodshow's official

introduction of the tournament. Ash looked at the ground because he didn't

dare look at his competition, all he focused on was himself. Finally Mr.

Goodshow came onto centerfield and began to speak." We are here to kickoff

the Ultimate Pokemon League Tournament." Mr. Goodshow announced

causing the crowd to roar." We will now light the each regions empirical fire.

We will begin with Kanto's Red fire, when we light the fire we want to hear all

Kanto fans out there cheer there the Kanto letters out." Mr. Goodshow

announced as he received Kanto's torch. He lit Kanto's large Red fire and

heard an uproar of" K-A-N-T-O... KANTO!" The crowd screamed so loud it

almost blew out Ash's ear drums. The process repeated for Johto's Silver Fire,

Hoenn's Green Fire, Sinnoh's Blue Fire, Unova's Black Fire, and Kalos' Purple

Fire. Once all the chants were done Ash's ears were ringing and Mr.

Goodshow moved to the final part of the opening ceremony." To conclude this

opening ceremony we will now have the band Survivor play Eye of the Tiger,

the theme song for the entire tournament."" ( Instrumental beginning)Risin'

up, back on the streetDid my time, took my chancesWent the distance, Now

I'm back on my feetJust a man and his will to surviveSo many times it happens

too fastYou trade your passion for gloryDon't lose your grip on the dreams of

the pastYou must fight just to keep them alive( Chorus )It's the Eye of the

TigerIt's the thrill of the fightRisin' up to the challenge of our rivalAnd the last

known survivor stalks its prey in the nightAnd he's watching us all with the

EyeOf the Tiger( End Chorus )Face to face, out in the heatHangin' tough,

stayin' hungryThey stack the odds still we take to the streetFor the kill, with

the skill to survive(Chorus)It's the Eye of the TigerIt's the thrill of the

fightRisin' up to the challenge of our rivalAnd the last known survivor stalks

its prey in the nightAnd he's watchin' us all in the EyeOf The Tiger ( End

Chorus )Risin' up straight to the topHad the guts, had the gloryWent the

distance, now I'm not gonna stopJust a man and his will to survive( Chorus )

It's the Eye of the TigerIt's the thrill of the fightRisin' up to the challenge of

our RivalAnd the last known survivor stalks its prey in the nightAnd he's

watchin' us all in the EyeOf The Tiger( End Chorus )( Instrumentals )The Eye

of the TigerThe Eye of the TigerThe Eye of the TigerThe Eye of the Tiger"Ash

listened to the entire song in depth. It was almost as if the song was speaking

to him and telling him to finish what he's started. In reality all the song did

was pump him up. After the mountain of applause was over Mr. Goodshow

began to speak again" Alright we will now Kickoff the tournament with the 1

vs 16 seed matchup in the south regional group." Mr. Goodshow announced,

Ash was preparing to take the field." The number 16 seed in the south

regional, he's from Pallet Town, Kanto, He may have the most guts out of

every on every contestant here. Please Welcome Ash Ketchum." The match

announcer stated as Ash got up from his seat and walked onto the battlefield.

There were slight cheers, but the majority of the fans were confused. They

either didn't expect someone who had never won a league to be here or never

heard of Ash before." And now we have the number 1 seed in the South

regional, he has taken the world by storm, he is the Face of his entire region,

HE IS A POKEMON PRODIGY, HE IS THE YOUNGEST HOENN CHAMPION

IN HISTORY AT THE AGE OF 11. PLEASE WELCOME MAAAAXXX

MAAAPPPLLE!" The announcer shouted as Max walked up to the battlefield

with a cocky grin. The entire exploded cheers and all the Hoenn fans began to

chant" MAX, MAX, MAX. LET'S GO HOENN." The crowd chanted giving most

fans chills, Ash was unimpressed.

\- Before the opening match -" Oh my god May it's so loud here." Dawn claimed

barely loud enough for her and May to hear. She wasn't kidding shortly after

the intro song had finished playing all attendants were pumped for the

opening match." I know, I can barely hear your last statement just now. I hate

to admit it, but this event makes grand festivals look like small backyard

parties." May confessed as she continued to be astonished by the amount

electricity in the air." I'm just wondering who your brother is going to be

facing in the first round?" Dawn asked as the opening match quickly

approached." Oh I'm sure it won't matter, they don't call him champion for

nothing. Besides my parents have the nears seats to him so I'm sure they'll

yell out wonderful support." May answered as she looked over to her parents

seats. Before Dawn could answer someone tapped her on the back." Umm,

excuse me but is this seat taken, and if it isn't do you mind me sitting here

next to you guys?" A honeyblonde haired girl with a red hat asked." Well of

course you can, what's your name by the way?" May asked as she offered the

seat to her right." My names Serena." Serena announced answering May's

question." Hello there Serena, I'm Dawn and she's May." Dawn said as she

introduced herself and May." Nice to meet you to, I'm from the Kalos region.

Where are you from?" Serena asked hoping to get some insight on these two

nice girls." Well I'm from the Sinnoh region, and she's from the Hoenn region.

Kalos you say one of our best friends came back fromthere a few months ago."

Dawn claimed as she formally introduced May and herself to Serena. Before

Serena could reply the announcer began to speak." This opening round match

of the South Regional group will now commence. First the number 16 seed,

he's from the Pallet Town, Kanto. He may have the most guts of anyone in the

tournament. Please Welcome Ash Ketchum." The announcer stated as Ash

walked on to the , Dawn, and Serena were each stunned and

simultaneously said" Ash?"- On the other side of the Stadium -" Ash? No it

can't be." Misty questioned towards Brock and Gary until she saw him with

her own eyes." There's no doubt about it, that's Ashy boy over there. But how,

he has still yet to win a league plus we haven't heard fromhim in months.

What did he do to get invited to compete?" Gary asked in response to Misty's

question." Although Ash has always been there for us, I can't say his selection

makes much sense." Brock confessed wondering why Ash had gotten invited

to compete over others who have won leagues.- On a different side of the

Stadium -" There must've been a mistake right Cilan, I mean isn't there a rule

that states that you need to win a league to compete." Iris asked, baffled from

the Pokemon League's reason behind selecting Ash." No there isn't, remember

these rules were created a long time ago, before gym battles and leagues

were still in today's day and age, you would expect the Pokemon

League to factor in league victories. Then again Mr. Goodshow can be full of

surprises." Cilan responded trying to make sense of the situation." So he has

time to train for all his tournament, but can't take one day off to congratulate

his friends for their big achievements." Iris stated as she caught on to where

Ash had been these past few months." Iris I already told you that Ash must be

a busy guy. He probably didn't have time to do anything, but train. Besides

don't you think at some point he should mainly focus on his dream." Cilan

pointed out trying calm down Iris." I guess so, it just ain't like him to not

contact any of his friends." Iris said as she continued to focus on the field.-

Back to where we left off -If people from Hoenn thought their chants would

give Ash the jitters, they were dead wrong. Ash wasn't intimidated a bit, he

would not back down from the bright lights. Max walked up to his side of the

Battlefield with a cocky smile and chants of his name following him. The

official began to speak." This round of 64 match will now begin, please

trainers select your first of three pokemon." The official announced, Ash knew

exactly what to start with." Samurott I choose you." Ash yelled as he threw

Samurott's Pokeball towards the Blue field. Samurott emerged determined

and hungry for battle." This will be easy, Sceptile let's show him." Max yelled

as he threw Sceptile's pokeball towards his side of the blue battlefield.

Sceptile emerged calm and focused, and didn't have the serious battle face a

pokemon needs for top level competition." Battle Begin " The official stated

giving the signal to start." Sceptile use bullet seed." Sceptile fired hundreds of

seed projectiles out of its mouth." Samurott deflect them." Samurott used one

of its arms to deflect each bullet of its body. Surprisingly Samurott appeared

to take no damage." Sceptile use your speed to hit them with a quick leaf

blade." Sceptile picked up speed and charged directly at Samurott with its

blades readied. Sceptile had fallen into a trap." Samurott grabs its arms and

use Frostbite." Samurott grabbed Sceptile's blades just in time and began to

freeze Sceptile's entre body. Sceptile began to turn blue and ice crystals

began to pop up on its body." Sceptile fight it off." Sceptile tried to ignore the

effects, but to no avail. This was Ash's chance to finish this." Samurott use

Downpour." Samurott rapidly began to fire water pulse after water pulse

leaving Sceptile completely defenseless. The bombardment of water pulses

pushed Sceptile into a wall and slowly died down. Sceptile was out of

commission." Sceptile is unable to battle, Samurott wins." The official stated

surprising everyone in the stadium." Would you look at that folks. 16th seed

Ash actually managed to take down one of Hoenn Champion Max's pokemon.

Max surly won't underestimate Ash this time. Look for Max to lay down the

sledgehammer on Ash." The announcer claimed trying to make sense of what

transpired. The entire crowd was more than stunned.- With May, Dawn, and

Serena -" Oh wow, Ash seems different. He was focused and completely

dominated one of my brother's most powerful pokemon."May said in a

concerned, but mostly surprised tone." And the moves that he used, I've never

even heard of the moves frostbite and Downpour." Dawn claimed as she, like

the rest of the crowd, tried to make sense of the situation." Hey Serena did

Ash's pokemon learn those moves while he was in Kalos?" May asked hoping

to find a logical answer to Ash's new abilities." No, he never used those

attacks in Kalos." Serena confessed making everything even more confusing.-

Back to the Battlefield -" Okay enough messing around, let's go Salamence."

Max threw Salamence's pokeball towards the battlefield and a powerful

pseudo legendary appeared ready to fight." Samurott return." Ash recalled

Samurott and pulled out his old reliable buddy." Charizard I choose you."

Charizard emerged from its pokeball with the same level intensity as

Salamence. The official gave the signal to begin." Salamence use dragon pulse

" Salamence wasted and fired a large dragon pulse straight towards

Charizard." Charizard fly threw it " Charizard flew straight for the dragon

pulse and went straight through the attack easily." Salamence use dragon

claw " Salamence's claws increased exponentially in size and began to glow

green." Charizard Steel wing " Charizard's wings grew in size and flew

straight for the dragon claws. The collision released a great force, but one

sided as Salamence was thrown back into the back wall. Salamence got up

slow, but wasn't about to be overpowered so easily." Salamence use Giga

Impact " Salamence started charging directly at Charizard, with a bluish

shield arounds its body." Stop it in it's tracks. Use Wildfire" Charizard lowered

its head and in one motion roared loud and a large fire nova exploded from

within Charizard and spread all over the battlefield. Bright flames engulfed

the field and the official was forced to take cover. The crowd couldn't see what

transpired since the flames made seeing difficult. When the flames cleared

Charizard was standing strong but Salamence was burned and finished."

Salamence is unable to battle, Charizard wins this round. Hoenn Champion

Max is down to its last Pokemon." The official stated, a little afraid of

Charizard's power." Well it seems as if the 16th seed Ash Ketchum has caught

the top seed Max off guard. We could be close to witnessing the first ever 16th

seed to defeat a number 1 seed." The announcer claimed to the shocked

crowd.- With Gary, Misty, and Brock -" This is insane, Ash is mopping the floor

with Max. And Max is the HOENN CHAMPION." Misty pronounced in a state

of complete shock, Ash had never been this strong." Well let's not count Max

out just yet. He's a champion, he knows how to win. Still however Ash has all

three Pokemon remaining." Gary announced trying to get everyone to settle

down, Brock however saw this situation differently." You're wrong Gary. This

battle is already decided and I bet Norman knows it." Brock stated as he

glared at a concerned looking Norman.- Back to the Battlefield -" Gardevoir,

don't fail me. " Max yelled as Gardevoir emerged from its pokeball with a

sense of urgency." Well Pikachu, it's your turn." Ash said as he recalled

Charizard and sent out his best friend towards the field. The official gave the

signal to begin." Gardevoir use moonblast. " Gardevoir launched a large moon

blast towards Pikachu, but Pikachu didn't panic." Pikachu knock it back with

Iron Tail." Pikachu easily defected the moon blast with its iron tail." Gardevoir

teleport and get out of there." Gardevoir just barely teleported out of the way,

but spawned in the perfect target area." Pikachu finish this with Lightning."

Pikachu quickly fired a blue lightning bolt that struck Gardevoir directly. In an

instant the battle

was over." Gardevoir is unable to battle, Pikachu wins. That means the winner

is Ash Ketchum, he moves on to the round of 32." The official announced to

the entire stadium. The announcer tried to make sense of everything that just

transpired, but only came up with" Uhhh…."

" Uh, well how about that?Ash Ketchum has become the first ever 16 seed to

knock off a 1 seed in this event's history. He will now advance to the round of

32 to face the winner of the match between the eighth and ninth seeds." The

announcer stated breaking the silence that occurred at the battle's conclusion.

Slowy, but surely the crowd regained their senses. Now disappointment

loomed over the Hoenn fan base; disappointment in their weak champion that

is. Eventually the Hoenn fan base began to chant." Boo, You Suck!" was the

chant that came from a large portion of the stadium. Max couldn't handle his

shame at this moment. While the wave of 'boos' were still coming down, Max

simple walked off the stage, as did Ash. Seeing Max receive this kind of

treatment from his own fans caused a serious wave of guilt to engulf Ash's

heart. He never liked seeing any of his friends sad, but the fact that he was

the direct cause of it made him feel a whole lot worse. Ash quickly looked for

Max, hoping to find him and console him. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Max

had already left the building. Instead, Ash ran into a large, suffocating hug."

Oh, my Ash! I always knew you could do it. You just don't stop making me

proud, do you?" Delia exclaimed and asked asshe brought Ash into the hug."

Thanks Mom, you're always there to support me so I guess I have to thank you

too." Ash said through his mother's embrace. Although caught up in the hug,

Ash still couldn't stop thinking of his guilt; something that didn't go unnoticed

byDelia." Ash is something wrong?" Delia asked concerned over what could be

troubling her son. Ash answered truthfully," You see, I feel bad seeing Max so

sad and hearing those 'boos' is making him feel like a failure." Ash responded

in all honesty." Oh, Ash. I can sense the guilt from your voice. I'm not so sure

Max is upset with you, though. I think he's upset with himself. As I always say,

the only way to repair guilt it do something nice for that person. So, I think

you should have a personal conversation with him to get his spirits up and

refill his inner pride." Delia suggested, she knew these situations were tough

for both people." I guess that'll work. Thanks Mom," Ash responded, grateful

that his mom and him were on the same page. Still, Ash couldn't help but

wonder how many people were affected by this.- Meanwhile in Champions'

Island Casino -" YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! THIS IS A HOAX! A

CHAMPION COULDN'T POSSIBLE OF LOST THIS EARLY!" A drunk gambler

yelled." YEA, YOU MUST OF RIGGED THE MATCH!" another drunk gambler

yelled. Although these two gamblers were the only ones loud enough for the

human ears to hear, the rest of the men were calmly beginning to riot as well.

One of the more sober and peaceful men walked up to the huge betting

winner." May I ask you your name young lad?" The man asked to the lucky

winner." Red," Red responded in a calm voice." Red, you say? Kind of a

strange name, don't you presume?" The man asked, Obviously trying to start a

conversation." Yea I get that a lot. Listen if you were hoping to find out how I

predicted the largest upset in history, let's just say I trusted my gut." Red

stated as he walked away with his winnings. He needed to thank Ash one day

for the hundreds of thousandsof dollars he earned in one simple bet.- Outside

the Stadium -Ash walked out the stadium's exit(with pikachu asleep on his

shoulder) into an area of crowded and upset people. In this crowd, Ash noticed

all of his friends were in a group together. How they all got to know each

other is beyond him. He wasn't going to hide from them, but he wasn't going

to jump into their conversation, either. He decided to simply walk near them

and either they would recognize him or not. As Ash approached his friends, he

couldn't help eavesdropping on their current conversation." So you traveled

with Ash through Kalos?" Misty asked Serena." Yea, and it was lots of fun,"

Serena answered happily." Let me guess: he destroyed your bike." Misty

stated as if she knew the only way a girl ends up traveling with Ash." Um, No,"

Serena answered, confused by such a statement." Did he try to catch you

because he thought you were a pokemon?" Iris asked, trying to find another

logical solution." Um, no. I just sort of ran into him at his first gym battle,"

Serena answered. Now, everyone else was confused." Forgive us for our

reaction. It's justourtravels with Ash always started in the craziest ways." May

stated, breaking the tension in the group. By this time, Ash walked right by

them and they didn't even notice.- Later in the night -Ash's search for Max

was vigorous, but seemed pointless. He had started searching in the early

evening and Ash felt that hours had passed, but he was able to figure out that

it was almost midnight and that maybe Max would be in his personal condo

sleeping. Ash decided to cut off the search and then try again tomorrow, if it

wasn't midnight already. Then in an instant, he heard a scream in the

distance." Help! Someone, please!" was the scream. Immediately after hearing

this, Ash sprinted in the direction of the scream. Pikachu was awakened from

this action and jumped off of Ash's shoulder, following his path. Ash and

Pikachu ran until they came across an alley and heard an undeveloped voice

coming from that area." Listen, I'm sorry I lost, but it isn't my fault you bet 30

grand away." Max stated in defense as he was being backed into a corner by a

large figure." You don't seem to get it brat, you're performance cost me my

pride. I spilled my guts out to defend you and then some random Red guy

comes, tells me I'm wrong and steals my money. I love you, that's why I must

kill you." A drunk stranger announced. As if Max didn't already have

problems, now he has a serial lunatic trying to kill him. Max(being only 11)

frozein fear. After all, heismerely an innocent kid on the inside. The stranger

approached Max slowly and began pulling out a sharp object. At this point,

Max was to scared to say anything, let alone move for that matter. The

stranger kept on comingcloser until he fell straight to the ground. Max(still

shocked by this change of events) was unable to react. Max then noticea

pikachu playfully run towards him and someone else in the alley." Hey Max

you need a hand?" Ash asked as he offered a hand to pick Max up. Max fainted

at the sound of Ash's voice.

Well here is the final, I hope that you enjoyed.


End file.
